{"text":[[{"start":7.52,"text":"Donald Trump has called on Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, which he blames for the price of diesel hitting record levels in the US just weeks ahead of critical midterm elections."}],[{"start":19.697,"text":"The US president said his administration had spoken to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy about stopping drone strikes on Russian facilities, which he said were “hurting the world” amid a deepening fuel shortage."}],[{"start":30.334,"text":"“Mr Zelenskyy has to do one thing: he has to stop knocking out diesel fuel in Russia,” Trump told reporters in Doonbeg in Ireland. “Let him go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage.”"}],[{"start":43.16,"text":"Diesel has emerged as a political liability for the president as infrastructure damage caused by his war with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine conflict crimps supply, pushing prices to unprecedented levels in the US."}],[{"start":55.46,"text":"The price of diesel, considered the lifeblood of the US economy because of its essential role in powering industry and agriculture, shot past $6 a gallon for the first time on Friday, reaching an unprecedented $6.20 a gallon on Sunday, according to the AAA motoring group."}],[{"start":71.58,"text":"High fuel prices have fed through to other parts of the US economy, pushing up the cost of transporting goods. Official data released on Friday showed US inflation was stuck at an annual rate of 3.4 per cent in August, driving bets that the Federal Reserve will be forced to raise interest rates on Wednesday."}],[{"start":89.14,"text":"Stubborn inflation has dogged the president’s popularity ahead of midterm elections on November 3 to decide control of Congress. A recent FT poll found just 33 per cent of voters approved of his performance in office"}],[{"start":101.5,"text":"Trump on Sunday insisted his war with Iran was not to blame for the price rise. “This isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine,” he said."}],[{"start":111.26,"text":"But diesel prices have climbed by roughly two-thirds since the US and Israel first launched strikes against Iran in February, leading to widespread infrastructure damage in the region and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key energy transit waterway."}],[{"start":125.78,"text":"The price of crude oil, from which diesel is refined, has surged since the Middle East conflict broke out, with Brent crude, the international benchmark, up about 40 per cent at $104 a barrel."}],[{"start":138.86,"text":"The Iran conflict has exacerbated existing diesel shortages driven by Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries, which have led to reduced production by one of the world’s biggest suppliers and caused Moscow to throttle exports."}],[{"start":153.273,"text":"US refineries have been running at full tilt in an attempt to fill the gap, shipping record volumes of fuel to global markets. But analysts have warned falling inventory levels will make this difficult to sustain."}],[{"start":170.78,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789344413_3048.mp3"}